Salt or sodium chloride is a necessary supplement to man both as a seasoning and as a dietary necessity. Man has long sought the compound for its nutritional value -- even to the point of using it as payment for services and bartering.
It has been determined in recent years, however, that certain persons are affected by the concentration of the elements of salt, i.e., sodium, in the body. It has been reported that hypertension is aggravated in same people by levels of sodium in the body. It has also been reported that sodium chloride helps retain higher levels of body fluids.
Persons tending toward hypertension or high blood pressure are normally cautioned by medical authorities to control their sodium intake as a means, along with medication, to control the symptoms of the hypertension. People who tend to excess fluids in the body have found that reduction of sodium intake is helpful in controlling the body fluid level to a degree.
There have been numerous formulations prepared as an aid to reducing or eliminating to a large degree the sodium intake. Some formulations completely eliminate sodium chloride, but seek to retain the "salty" taste associated with the sodium chloride since the taste appears to be a primary need and desire built into man throughout his evolution. These formulations, while eliminating sodium chloride from the diet from the seasoning standpoint, have been largely unsuccessful in satisfying the principal hunger man appears to have for the saline taste of salt.
Other formulations, of which class the present invention belongs, dilute sodium chloride with other additives. These additives are tailored to improve the processability of salt as well as enhance the "salty" taste derived.
A common additive or diluent is potassium chloride because of its acceptance in the body functions. Potassium chloride has a rather unpleasant, even bitter, aftertaste, however, and it has been found that other additives are needed to mask the unpleasant taste. Monopotassium glutamate or glutamic acid, choline, fumaric acid, ascorbic acid and citric acid have been used with varying degrees of success as additives to mask the potassium chloride bitter taste.
Citric acid is an effective agent for masking the potassium chloride taste, but, as indicated in U.S. Letters Pat. 3,505,082, the deliquescence of citric acid causes difficulty in that formulations having citric acid tend to "cake" and become difficult to pour.